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Does death penalty bring closure? [CNN.com]

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Last week a federal jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death, and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh issued a statement expressing "hope [that] this verdict provides a small amount of closure" to everyone affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

 

His words were echoed by other officials and victims. "The verdict, undoubtedly a difficult decision for the jury, gives me relief and closure as well as the ability to keep moving forward," said transit police officer Richard Donohue, who was seriously injured during a shoot-out with Tsarnaev and his older brother in Watertown, Massachusetts.

 

Most everyone wants this to be true: We hope that the victims of the bombing — including the families of the four people murdered by the Tsarnaev brothers — can find some relief from their anguish.

 

Will this death sentence for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev help them?

 

For months, many people close to the case have been ambivalent about this outcome. A poll in April found that only 15% of Boston residents said they wanted Tsarnaev to receive the death penalty. Also last month, Bill and Denise Richard, whose 8-year-old son was killed in the bombing, wrote an open letter in the Boston Globe urging the Justice Department to take the death penalty "off the table."

 

[For more of this story, written by Jason Marsh, go to http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/...sarnaev-forgiveness/]

 

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I didn't read the entire article, which is probably a faux pas, but for me personally the death penalty is never appropriate (except maybe  for individuals like Hermann Goring and even in cases like that I am not sure). I think the notion that killing another provides a "small amount of closure" as stated in the article, is missing something. Without looking deeply, do we know the issues under the surface that led to such behavior in the first place and might this leave us dangerously vulnerable to this occurring again?  Like everything else, prevention --- to me is the key.  Now I know nothing about any of this Boston Bombing case besides it occurred and several people were injured and died --- I don't watch or pay attention to the sensationalism of TV or mainstream news (no CNN, no Fox for sure, no MSNBC etc).  

 

I know when I was a younger person, as I told others what happened to me at the hands of my father, some would say, "That Bastard should be killed" (when he was alive) and others would say after he died "He should rot in Hell" in both cases I did not agree. What good at this point would killing him do? And certainly, I did not wish him to Hell, only that he would never have his spirit born again to do something similar to another. 

 

Did Ghandi really say "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind?" I don't know for sure but this idea that we can find redemption and realize justice  by  killing others makes no sense to me. It seems retribution solves nothing.   Some of us eventually find that through forgiveness of those who tortured us and tried to murder our souls comes a type of freedom.  I would be far more interested in preventing adversity, preventing ACEs and forming trauma-informed communities that protect children from abuse and I know that by doing this, many of these cases of seemingly senseless murder and carnage would be avoided. I believe when we as a society do not stop children from being harmed and then those children become young adults or late teens and do something seemingly horrific -- in all cases-- I would like to know the story behind the act.  In many ways we create  what we later feel justified in killing and we never allow ourselves to see -- we/society -- do not protect children.  I have no idea if this individual was traumatized as a child or not but many who kill have been traumatized and we live in a traumatized world.  

 

My safer, more caring world protects children and understands that when we don't we can expect terrible acts by hurt people, society should look closely at her complacency and indifference to the suffering of others and with deep understanding and right view, it is easy to see ---we all are ultimately responsible.   

Last edited by Former Member

Judging from the responses of Victims, and Families of Victims, of the Boston Marathon bombing, and the very low number of Boston residents who support the death penalty in general, I think this is a very appropriate item for ACEsConnection,com/Blog. Thanks Samantha.

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